We have urged UK residents to look elsewhere for some time now and it looks like our advice (not popular with the bank!) has been vindicated.

We suggest looking at Barclays or other banks in Monaco from our homepage - here's what the Daily Telegraph have to say:

just a few weeks after Lloyds Banking Group said it was selling its retail banking operations in Spain, it has now announced that it is selling most of its remaining international private banking business.

The sale is to the Swiss bank Union Bancaire Privée (UBP). Those Lloyds offices included in the deal include its Geneva-based private bank, plus its Zurich, Monaco and Gibraltar offices and its representative office in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Lloyds TSB has undergone some radical changes in recent years, and its structure is unrecognisable today compared to just five years ago.

But the fundamental question is, is it suitable for a Monaco account?

The answer lies in your individual circumstances.

If you already have a bank account with Lloyds TSB and perhaps have wealth management and private banking, it will be made easy for you to establish an account in Monaco.

If you live in the UK and aren't going to be taking residency, the answer could be that Lloyds TSB Monaco might not be the best account for you, and you might want to consider depositing your money elsewhere.

After all, with the British government a significant shareholder in Lloyds TSB in the UK, will they be asking questions about what money is deposited in offshore accounts, to see what's going on?

Possibly.

We were recently contacted by Lloyds TSB in Monaco who seemed to be questioning our advice that perhaps they weren't the best choice for people to open an account with. Despite phone calls and emails asking them to clarify what they thought wasn't right about our advice they haven't come back with an answer. We stand by our advice to look elsewhere if you're from the UK.

But if you do decide to open an account they will be able to provide you with a full range of services, including private banking and wealth management.

What are the alternatives?

There are normally several alternatives and these can be seen on the different sections of the banksinmonaco.com site and includes Barclays and HSBC plus some non British banks, and if you request our free of charge report we will send it to you as soon as possible, to help inform you whether to open an account - or not.

We will also recommend the best people to contact at each bank to make opening an account easier, and with the right people.